Waukesha's Scanalytics Inc., which creates technology to turn physical spaces into smart environments, is seeking a large space in the Milwaukee or Madison area to build a lab for testing and developing its floor sensing software and materials, according to Scanalytics CEO Joe Scanlin.
The company would use the space to test the technology it's developing through a new $1.3 million plus-up contract from the U.S. Department of Energy, as well as other applications, such as using its floor sensors in senior living facilities to help predict patient falls, Scanlin said.
Scanalytics, which currently has around 14 employees, is seeking at least 10,000 square feet in Milwaukee, Madison or somewhere in between, Scanlin said.
In the past, Scanalytics has tested and developed its technologies through partnerships with companies such as Metcalfe's Market. The company has worked with more than 100 customers to date, Scanlin said, ranging from small businesses to Chicago's 2.6 million-square-foot convention center McCormick Place.
With the new lab space, Scanalytics aims to have the capacity to test its technology internally, Scanlin said.
"We're testing larger and larger installations of the technology in different applications," Scalin said. "We want to create microenvironments that we can control."
Scanalytics had been planning to open a Chicago office before the pandemic but did not end up doing so due to Covid-19, Scanlin said.
With the new contract from the energy department's Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E), Scanalytics plans to scale its sensors and software to improve utility usage and occupant comfort in buildings, according to a Nov. 9 announcement.
"Our partnership with ARPA-E makes it possible for us to deliver a system that will help a building computationally consider the stochastic changes in their operating conditions, and adjust proactively to avoid the tradeoff between utility waste and occupant comfort," Scanlin said in a statement.
Including the new contract, Scanalytics has received around $2.1 million from ARPA-E to date. It has also raised around $6 million in equity financing to date, Scanlin said.
